Disney Accused of Using AI Artwork One Day After Landmark Lawsuit
The Walt Disney Company and Universal put themselves at the forefront of the debate over AI yesterday, with their landmark lawsuit against Midjourney, an AI image generator with millions of users.
In their suit, Disney and Universal accused Midjourney of pilfering countless copyrighted works to train their software and allowing users to create images that “blatantly incorporate and copy Disney’s and Universal’s famous characters.”
“Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” the companies said in the lawsuit.
Walt Disney Company
While the crux of the lawsuit revolves around the use of Disney’s copyrighted characters, the more fundamental issue of AI art also came up.
“We are bringing this action today to protect the hard work of all the artists whose work entertains and inspires us and the significant investment we make in our content,” said Kim Harris, general counsel of NBCUniversal.
The Walt Disney Company
Unfortunately for Disney, the company’s own use of AI may be undercutting their moral argument.
Disney’s AI Oogie Boogie Bash Posters
Just one day after Disney filed their landmark lawsuit, users on Instagram have pointed out that the company seemingly used AI to create their new posters for Oogie Boogie Bash.
The images in question feature a collection of Disney characters celebrating Halloween.
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Specifically, users have pointed to Mickey’s hands as evidence that the images were AI-generated.
If Disney did, in fact, use AI to create the new Oogie Boogie Bash posters, it would not be the studio’s first use of the technology.
Disney’s Lawsuit Isn’t About AI Art
Before we call Disney hypocrites, however, we should probably discuss the crux of their lawsuit against Midjourney.
Darth Vader A.I. image generated by Midjourney. Photo: New York Times
Despite some posturing in the legal documents, the crux of the Midjourney case is copyright protection and the integrity of their characters.
While using AI to create Ooogie Boogie posters may be a bad look for Disney, as the company has become the figurehead of the fight against AI overreach, it does not contradict what their lawsuit was actually about.
Nevertheless, Disney now finds itself as a leader in one of the biggest fights facing Hollywood.
Frozen artwork generated by Midjourney A.I. Photo: New York Times.
The company will have to navigate carefully if it wants to continue using AI technology. Or, they run the risk of those who have rushed to support them.
